Dried nettles make a nice tea; you could also crumble them and sprinkle them into a soup.
As for "losing something" in the drying process, constituents such as vitamin C, might be reduced; more heat-stable phytocompounds might increase.
By the way, if you dare, you can easily get nettle seeds to grow your own: http://amzn.to/Zml3wT
I'd cut the seedheads before the seed matures, since nettles are notoriously aggressive, spreading via both underground rhizomes and thousands of tiny seeds, especially if they fall onto rich, moist soil.
Dried nettles make a nice tea; you could also crumble them and sprinkle them into a soup.
As for "losing something" in the drying process, constituents such as vitamin C, might be reduced; more heat-stable phytocompounds might increase.
By the way, if you dare, you can easily get nettle seeds to grow your own: http://amzn.to/Zml3wT
I'd cut the seedheads before the seed matures, since nettles are notoriously aggressive, spreading via both underground rhizomes and thousands of tiny seeds, especially if they fall onto rich, moist soil.